BILL NUMBER: AJR 25	CHAPTERED  09/27/99

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   138
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 27, 1999
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 10, 1999
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 7, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Briggs

                        JUNE 10, 1999

   Assembly Joint Resolution No. 25--Relative to Allied Hmong-Lao
veterans.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 25, Briggs.  Allied Hmong-Lao veterans.
   This measure would memorialize the President and Congress of the
United States to recognize the sacrifices and services rendered to
our country by the Hmong-Lao veterans who served in the special
guerrilla units that were allied with, and operating in support of,
the military forces of the United States during the Vietnam War, by
granting those veterans and their immediate families full United
States citizenship.




   WHEREAS, Many Hmong-Lao units fought for and with the United
States armed forces during the Vietnam War, and more than 35,000 of
them were killed, along with countless numbers who were wounded while
fighting with their American allies; and
   WHEREAS, They were told by representatives of our government that
the United States would not abandon them if the United States left
Southeast Asia; and
   WHEREAS, Many fled their own countries after the war to avoid
persecution, imprisonment, or death for their loyalty to America and
the armed forces of our nation; and
   WHEREAS, Many of the Hmong-Lao soldiers and their families have
been accepted into our country as legal immigrants; and
   WHEREAS, While fighting for the United States, many of these
veterans, as young soldiers, had little or no time for education in
their homeland, and therefore had great difficulty learning American
customs and the level of English needed to qualify for United States
citizenship; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California,
jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully
memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States to
recognize the sacrifices and services rendered to our country by the
Hmong-Lao veterans who served in the special guerrilla units that
were allied with, and operating in support of, the military forces of
the United States during the Vietnam War, by granting those veterans
and their immediate families full United States citizenship; and be
it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
and to each Senator and Representative from California in the
Congress of the United States.
